Can opener and sealer.



F. E. TEVES.

can OPENER AND SEALER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1910. 1,027,932., Patented May 28, 1912.

I! TTORNEVS FREDERICK E. TEVES, OF GLEN COVE, NEW YORK.

' CAN OPENER AND SEALER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28,1912.

Application filed SeptemberBO, 1910. Serial No. 584,674.

.dent of Glen Cove, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Can Opener and Sealer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a new and improved device whereby a can of evaporated milk or the like can be provided with a plurality of openings, one-ofwhich acts as an outlet for the milk, and the other of which acts as an inlet for the air to take the place of the milk poured out, and which can further act as a sealer for closing the openings thus formed when it is desired to preserve the milk remaining in the can. 7

It has been found that evaporated milk, when left standing in a pitcher orcan, not

' only collects dust and dirt, germs, microbes,

etc., but also readily spoils. It has been further found that while the milk does not spoil quite so readily when left in the can, it will spoil in a shorter time than if the can were sealed.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a can opener which will provide a plurality of openings in the can so that the milk can be poured out, and which is also of such a form that when reinsertedin these openings, it will exactly fill them, so as 1 to form a practically air-tight sealer which will keep the milk a greater length of time. This is of great value to poor families, where by buying a larger can, they can obtain nearly three timesthe quantity of milk for double the price, thus making a great saving, as by using this' device they will to a large extent be able to use the larger cans.

A further object of this invention is to provide a can opener and sealer which is adapted to make openings of various dimensions, so that, if desired, the can can be provided with small openings, so that the milk can be served from the can and these smallpowders, etc., by forming punctures, the

edges of which extend inwardly, leavlng a smooth exterior with no rough edges to lacerate the hands.

These and further obiects, together with the construction and combination of parts will be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompany ing drawings forming a part of this specification,'in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which Flgure 1 1s a perspective view of the delvice detached; Fig. 2 1s a fragmentary view in elevatlon, partly in section, showing the.

device in use, making the small perforations in the can, where it is desired to serve the milk or other substance from the can; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the device making the larger perforations, where it is desired to pour the milk entirely or part from the can at one quick operation, by which a large 16-o'un'ce can may be emptied in less than one-quarter minute. Referring more particularly to the specific form of the device, 1 indicates a body portion, which is provided on one side with a'pair of pins 2 and 3, projecting preferably perpendicular therefrom and in spaced relation one from the other. These pins may be of any form suitable to produce a puncture or perforation in a can, such as a pan of evaporated milk, and are shown in this case in the form of conical members drawn to a sharp point at their lower ends and increasing in thickness toward their junction with the body portion. The body portion and the pins may be made of any silitable material, such as cast iron, and the pins-2 and 3 as evaporated milk, from the can. It will 7 be noted that this stop or shoulder 4 is preferably located on the inner side of the pin, so that it will not come in contact with the edge of the can, indicated at 5, and thus prevent the proper puncture of the can.

The body portion 1 is providedwith an extension having an opening 6, whereby the instrument may be hung on a suitable hook when not in use.

The utility of the device will be readily understood when taken in connection with the above description. When it is merely desired to provide openings suflicient to serve the milk from the can, the pins are forced'through the top of the can, until the shoulder 4 comes in engagement with the top of the can. At this polnt, the openings will be of sufficient size to permit the evaporated milk or other contents to flow outthrough one of the openings, and at the same time permit the air to flow in through the other of the openings. When a suflicient quantity of milk has been utilized, the remainder can be preserved by merely placing the sealer so that the pins 2 and 3 enter the corresponding openings. It will thus be seen that inasmuch as the same pins fill the openings which they themselves produce, they may be used to fill these openings, and thereby produce a proper seal, excluding the air from the contents of the can. If it should be desired to pour all or part of the contents of the can directly from the can, and serve from another receptacle, it is merely necessary to exert a further pressure on the instrument, forcing the pins through the top of the cover, beyond the stop or shoulder 4:,

until openings of suificient size be produced. The limit of the size of these openings is produced when the body portion 1 rests on the top of the can.

While I have shown one embodiment of my invent-ion, I do not wish to be limited to the specific details thereof, but desire to be protected in various changes, modifications and alterations which may come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described-my invent-ion, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent A can opener such as described, having a body portion provided with a pricking point having lengthwise sections of different diameters, said sections being eccentric'each to the other, and the side wall of both section coinciding at the outer side of said pricking point to form an extension or shoulder at the opposite or inner side of the pricking point whereby to limit the insertion of the pricking point. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence'of' two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIGK E. TE VES.

Witnesses:

HORATIO WHrrING, PHILIP D. ROLLHAUS. 

